Dolphins have five TEs but no definitive answer

Search to solidify the position is big key to offensive success

Everybody knows that old football saying that goes something like, “When you have two quarterbacks, you really have none.”

So what does it mean when you have five tight ends, such as the Dolphins? Right now it means their search to find an answer at one of the NFL’s most important positions remains muddled.

Among Dustin Keller, the free agent signee from the New York Jets, Dion Sims, this year’s fourth-round pick, Michael Egnew, last year’s third-round pick, Charles Clay, the sixth-round pick two years ago, and Kyle Miller, a free agent signee last season, the Dolphins have invested a lot in the tight end position recently.

Each flashed promise during Tuesday’s OTA (Organized Team Activities). Keller, a better receiver than blocker, caught the ball well and appeared polished. Sims, the 260-pounder who has lost about 20 pounds since his senior season at Michigan State, was surprisingly agile with soft hands. Egnew seemed aware and active, a change from a year ago. Clay again showed the athleticism that’s teased for the last two years, and Miller looked more comfortable as a receiver and blocker.

Still, the Dolphins find themselves conducting an urgent search for the right combination of tight ends that can block, catch passes, run the seam route (along the hashmarks) and be a force in the red zone (area inside the opponent’s 20-yard line).

The way the NFL game is played now, tight end is a huge key to offensive success and diversity.

It appears Miami’s best hope for the complete package at tight end is Keller, a capable receiver but not a threat in the fashion of New England’s Rob Gronkowski or New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham. Keller is a veteran who could serve as sort of a security blanket for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. But Keller is coming off an injury-interrupted season that saw him have just 28 receptions for 317 yards and two touchdowns in eight games. Because of that, Keller opted for a one-year contract. He’s looking to cash in for the 2014 season.

“I think with an injury plagued year, my worth wasn’t where I think it was at,” Keller said. “I took a gamble on myself and said that I am better than everyone thinks I am. This is definitely where I want to be long-term, but I just want to prove to them that I am better than last year.”

In the perfect world the Dolphins get what they need among Keller, Egnew and Sims. That way they develop their third- and fourth-round picks from the last two drafts while playing their free agent signee from this year. In the process they protect themselves in case Keller bolts next season.

Reality, however, says the Dolphins will take what they can get.

In the five-year span from 1989-93, the Dolphins had four Pro Bowl selections among three tight ends – Ferrell Edmunds (1989, 1990), Keith Jackson (1992), and Keith Byars (1993). No Miami tight end has earned a Pro Bowl berth since. It’s the team’s longest drought on offense.

If the Dolphins’ current crop of tight ends could eventually approach the type of success shared by Edmunds, Jackson and Byars they could help end the team’s second-longest offensive Pro Bowl drought – quarterback.